Week in Sloth

“Vikings” on History

Thursday 28

“Hacking the Planet” (Weather 6 p.m.) Weather Channel continues its quest to prove that weather is interesting. Here, science writer John Rennie looks into the work of scientists who are trying to prevent, weaken or redirect dangerous weather and geological phenomena. ... OK, that’s pretty interesting.

“Nathan For You” (Comedy Central 11:30 p.m.) Comedian Nathan Fielder tries something beyond the usual sketch series. This one’s a docu-reality show in which Fielder uses his business degree to offer nontraditional help for struggling businesses. Perhaps he’ll be generating buzz for a yogurt shop with a “controversial” flavor. Maybe he’ll help a taxi company “reinvent” the taxi ride. Honestly, it couldn’t be any worse than what Donald Trump does for business.

Friday 1

“Titanic: Ballard’s Secret Mission: Revealed” (National Geographic 7 p.m.) Turns out Robert Ballard—the dude who found the Titanic—only got to do it because he was on a secret mission for the U.S. Navy, spying on a couple of sunken Russian submarines. Where was that in Cameron’s movie?

Saturday 2

“Savage Family Diggers” (Spike 8 p.m.) Spike’s metal-detecting docu-reality series “Savage Family Diggers”—not to be confused with National Geographic’s metal-detecting docu-reality series “Diggers”—gets a new timeslot.

“Vikings” (History 8 p.m.) Of course, if the “The Bible” is a little too preachy for you, jump forward a couple thousand years and check out this bloody historical drama about the rise of Viking King Ragnar Lothbrok. Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects) is in it. He’s good.

“Welcome to Myrtle Manor” (TLC 8 p.m.) “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” “BUCKWILD” and any basic cable show about handfishin’ not fulfilling your recommended daily allowance of redneck? Try adding this new series about the residents of a trailer park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Monday 4

“LA Shrinks” (Bravo 8 p.m.) Based on the way Los Angelenos behave in other Bravo reality shows (“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”), I’m gonna say the psychiatrists there suck.

Tuesday 5

“Treasure Detectives” (CNBC 7 p.m.) CNBC gives up pretending it’s some sort of financial news network and just starts airing generic reality shows like this “buying and selling people’s old crap” series in which some antiques dealer tells people what their garage sale finds are worth.

“The Dukes of Melrose” (Bravo 8:30 p.m.) Hollywood vintage fashion boutique owners Christos Garkinos and Cameron Silver get their own “unscripted” series. In the near future, every business will have its own docu-reality show.